SXU Art Gallery presents Michael Hedges "Recent Paintings"

Saint Xavier University's (SXU) Art Gallery will feature the paintings of Michael
Hedges and will serve as the next exhibit installment of the fall semester. This exhibition
entitled, "Recent Paintings" will run from Wednesday, September 28 to Monday, October 24 in the SXU Gallery on the Chicago campus, 3700 West 103rd Street. A presentation
by the artist and reception will be held in the SXU Gallery on Wednesday, October 5 at 3:30 p.m. Public welcome!

Hedges was born and raised in Oak Park, Ill. While in high school he spent two years
studying at the Art Institute of Chicago before going on to receive his Bachelor of
Arts degree in Studio Art from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa in 1998. Since college,
Hedges has been exhibiting and selling his artwork throughout the Chicagoland area.
In addition, to gallery showings, pieces of his work hang permanently in corporations
through the Chicago metro-area and Iowa and even have been in private collections.

The following is a statement from the artist which reflects his artwork for this exhibit:

"My paintings are a synthesis of color line, form and texture. They begin as a problem
of two or more color relationships to be explored through form. The form is loosely
defined by a drawing that acts as a skeleton and ecto-skeleton both beneath and above
the finished work. The application of the media to the painting surface is of utmost
importance to me. The paint is applied with great bursts of energy, creating a surface,
if I am successful, that is supercharged with texture and color. I work multiple,
usually around 10, paintings at the same time, all centered on the original problem.
This multiple approach allows me to go in different directions, very quickly building
the energy that is critical to a successful painting. I strive to create intense,
even and stunning color relationships that are balanced by form and texture into a
controlled elegance. The challenge here is to create a vibration in the work that
energizes it without separating."